The message did not intimidate the Parliament.  The next day, Sunday, the Chief-President, accompanied by all the other presidents, and by several councillors, came to the Palais Royal.  Although, as I have said, the leader of his company, and the right-hand man of M. and Madame du Maine, he wished for his own sake to keep on good terms with the Regent, and at the same time to preserve all authority over his brethren, so as to have them under his thumb.  His discourse then to the Regent commenced with many praises and much flattery, in order to smooth the way for the three fine requests he wound up with.  The first of these was that the edict should be sent to the Parliament to be examined, and to suffer such changes as the members should think fit to introduce, and then be registered; the second, that the King should pay attention to their remonstrances in an affair of this importance, which they believed prejudicial to the State; the third, that the works recently undertaken at the mint for recasting the specie should be suspended!

To these modest requests the Regent replied that the edict had been registered at the Cour des Monnaies, which is a superior court, and consequently sufficient for such registration; that there was only a single instance of an edict respecting the money of the realm having been sent before the Parliament, and then out of pure civility; that the matter had been well sifted, and all its inconveniences weighed; that it was to the advantage of the State to put in force this edict; that the works of the Mint could not be interfered with in any way; finally, that the King must be obeyed!  It was quite true that the edict had been sent to the Parliament out of courtesy, but at the suggestion of the Regent’s false and treacherous confidants, valets of the Parliament, such as the Marechals de Villeroy, and Huxelles, and Besons, Canillac, Effiat, and Noailles.

Notwithstanding the decisive answer they had received, the Parliament met the very next day, and passed a decree against the edict.  The council of the regency, at its sitting on the afternoon of the same day, abrogated this decree.  Thus, since war was in a measure declared between the Regent’s authority and that of the Parliament, the orders emanating from the one were disputed by the other, and vice versa.  A nice game of shuttlecock this, which it was scarce likely could last long!

The Regent was determined to be obeyed.  He prohibited, therefore, the printing and posting up of the decree of the Parliament.  Soldiers of the guards, too, were placed in the markets to hinder the refusal of the new money which had been issued.  The fact is, by the edict which had been passed, the Louis worth thirty livres was taken at thirty-six livres, and the crown piece, worth a hundred sous, at six livres instead of five.  By this edict also government notes were made legal tender until the new money should be ready.  The finances were thus relieved, and the King gained largely from the recasting of the coin.  But private people lost by this increase, which much exceeded the intrinsic value of the metal used, and which caused everything to rise in price.  Thus the Parliament had a fine opportunity for trumpeting forth its solicitude for the public interest, and did not fail to avail itself of it.